Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has released a summary of the Clean Energy Jobs and
Oil Company Accountability Act, the massively scaled-back energy bill that spokesman Jim Manley says will reach the Senate floor early next week. In a statement, Senator Reid claimed that the package will create at least 150,000 jobs, hold BP and other oil companies accountable for spills, lessen dependence on foreign oil in the transportation sector and protect the environment. But he made clear that this is a narrowly cast bill.

“This bill does not address every issue of importance to our nation’s energy challenges, and we have to continue to work to find bipartisan agreement on a comprehensive bill to help reduce pollution and deal with the very real threat that global warming poses. But this is a good bill that deserves bipartisan support, and continues us along the path toward a clean energy future.”

Here’s what this bill does, based on the summary:

• Oil Spill Response and Accountability: This includes the lifting of the liability cap for oil spills that Bob Menendez has pushed since at least May. BP would retroactively be responsible for unlimited liability for their disaster in the Gulf. The response title would also improve the Bureau of Ocean Energy (formerly the Minerals Management Service), create an interagency oil spill response (including the bipartisan SHORE Act) and fix some marine and admiralty laws about liability and wrongful death on the high seas. It also gives subpoena authority to the Oil Spill Commission put together by President Obama.

• Pickens Plan/Electric Vehicles: Basically, this section provides incentives for both electric and natural gas vehicles, with rebates for purchasing such vehicles, mainly as trucks (it funds the rebates up to $3.8 billion). It also funds critical infrastructure like refueling and recharging stations, as well as manufacturing incentives. It makes electricity for a plug-in electric officially an alternative fuel (which would presumably help with other tax incentives). It creates an X-prize type of award from the Department of Energy for a 500-mile vehicle battery. There’s actually more in here on electric vehicles and battery technology than I expected.

• Home Star: This section is the “cash for caulkers” piece, which would give homeowners large rebates for energy retrofits on their homes. The idea is that it would create jobs (up to 150,000) in the energy retrofit/construction idustry, reduce home emissions by increasing efficiency, and lower utility bills in the long run so the retrofit pays for itself. There’s also a loan program so that the homeowner doesn’t have to absorb the up-front cost. Some wanted to add Building Star, a similar program for commercial properties, to this title, but that hasn’t happened yet.

• Land and Water Conservation Fund: Previously, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has been around since 1965, was funded “up to” $900 million dollars a year, to be given as grants to national parks, water projects, and dozens of other uses. In reality, the funding never reached that annual $900 million level, and was always cannibalized for other uses. This section would basically cross out the words “up to” and mandate $900 million per year in the fund for the next five years, with a floor $500 million thereafter (with the option for more).

• Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Fee: To pay for the bill, estimated at around $15 billion, this section enacts a 49 cent-per-barrel fee on oil companies (up from 8 cents a barrel), which goes directly into an expanded Oil Liability Trust Fund. The CBO reads this as offsetting the cost of the bill.

That’s not really a bad bill, and one that should be able to get through the Senate, though that’s not a definite. The problem is that it doesn’t come remotely close to the needs and challenges facing America. Asked on a conference call why a renewable energy standard wasn’t included in the bill, even though environmental groups claim to have 60 votes for it, Manley said that “Sen. Reid believes this bill represents best chance possible for getting out of the Senate, given Republican stalling tactics.” Whether an amendment adding an RES into the bill will get an opportunity is unclear.

When another reporter asked if there was an estimate on the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions coming from this bill, many on the call just laughed.